Answer: No. Nor could I make a strong case for keeping him as manager.

Q: I thought you wanted to retain Acta?

A: The story that I wrote said keep him for the rest of the season, then figure out what to do next.

Q: So why fire him with six games left?

A: I thought it was strange, until Chris Antonetti explained that the Indians are meeting with players to talk about next season. He said it would be unfair to make Acta go through those meetings when the front office had decided to fire him. That sounds logical.

Q: Does it seem like the general manager is putting the blame for the collapse on the manager?

A: Antonetti tried to say that wasn't the case. At the press conference, he said: "Ultimately, the responsibility rests with me . . . Manny is not the only one to blame. We need to take a hard look organizationally to see how we can do better."

Q: Meaning what?

A: I'm not going to spend much time defending Acta for his 21-50 record after the All-Star break. But I never bought this team as a contender -- my preseason prediction was 76-86.

I didn't think they'd hit, and their pitching scared me. I was in Arizona for the final 10 days, and it was easy to see that Ubaldo Jimenez looked lost and something was wrong with Josh Tomlin. That was out of Acta's control.

Q: What about left field?

A: That has been a mess for a decade. Even when they won 96 games in 2007, they needed Kenny Lofton to join the team at midseason and stabilize the situation. The Indians were sunk by their pitching. Then came problems with the lineup. Then came a manager who just couldn't snap them out of a colossal collapse.

Q: Who's to blame for that?

A: Yes, ownership has the Indians on a tight budget, their payroll ranked 26th. But the front office made the decision to bring back Grady Sizemore for $5 million after three injury-prone seasons -- and watch him never get on the field. They made the Jimenez deal, although I'm pretty sure Acta favored that move. They never could figure out what to do with left field. The pitching possibilities that they counted upon -- everyone from Jeanmar Gomez to Kevin Slowey to David Huff to other young starters -- failed to produce.

Q: So that points to the general manager, right?

A: Yes it does.

Q: Is he being fired?

A: That does not appear to be the case.

Q: Should he?

A: They have apparently have made the decision to keep the front office together. But CEO Paul Dolan should demand Antonetti show how he plans to take a different approach -- because this isn't working.

Q: So what should they do?

A: That's the problem, I have no clue. Please, don't start up with the "sell the team" stuff unless you know where to find a legitimate buyer -- and even then, no one can force the Dolans to sell. The thing about owners is that they are owners. They own it. They decide how much they will spend on payroll, who will be in the front office, and fans have no real say in the matter.

Q: So you mean ownership doesn't care?

A: Of course the Dolans do. They live here. They hear far more of the criticism than Randy Lerner ever did when he was owning the Browns. So they care. But it does not seem they suddenly will juice up the payroll by $30 million -- and it may take that much to reach the major league-projected average of $95 million in 2013.

Q: So now what?

A: That's the real problem, I have no clue. Sandy Alomar makes sense as the next manager. Some fans have mentioned Terry Francona, but why would Francona want this job? He should have several choices in the off-season.

Q: You sound depressed, right?

A: I am depressed because I love baseball. I grew up with the Indians. I have no big hopes for an immediate turnaround. They can trade everyone from Shin-Soo Choo to Chris Perez to Asdrubal Cabrera and pile up prospects. But even if they are right on those deals, it will take several years to pay off.

Q: So much for being upbeat?

A: I feel bad for Manny Acta, a good guy who had little to work with. But I feel even worse for the fans, unless the Indians can find a way to explain a new way to lift all the clouds hanging over the franchise.

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